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Green Real Estate Law JournalDiscussing current issues in construction and real estate law as they relate to sustainability, from the perspective of owners, builders, and design professionals. Published by Stephen Del Percio, B.Eng., J.D., LEED AP.

New York City Architects Design Green Building for Chinese Eco-City

New York City-based architect Kevin Kennon has released final plans and renderings for a nearly one million-square-foot office building in Tianjin, China. Called Tian Fang, the 45-story building will incorporate biophilic design techniques to mimic the form and growth of a bamboo forest.

The 656-foot tower was conceived as a series of stacked square boxes, which give the building 18 corners; not only do those corners help the tower echo the form of rising bamboo, but they also maximize the building’s commercial real estate appeal.

20 percent of Tian Fang’s energy will be produced on-site, which should drop its overall energy consumption by 40 percent over a typical Chinese office building. Passive design strategies also maximize natural daylighting and solar power generation, with over 50 individual atrium spaces. Luxury retail space will be located at the top of the building, which is tapered into a series of distinct angles that are oriented to maximize solar power.

“This project is the culmination of years of thinking about tall building design combining environmental strategies and adaptive innovation to create signature architecture,” Kevin Kennon said. “Considering pollution is a foremost challenge in this rapidly industrialized nation, the goal of this particular project is to act as a catalyst for green design in China.”

About Stephen Del Percio

Stephen Del Percio, B.Eng, J.D., LEED AP, is an experienced construction and real estate lawyer with over a decade of experience in the New York City construction industry. He is also a frequent lecturer and author on numerous industry topics, with particular emphasis on legal issues related to green building and sustainability. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from Columbia and worked as a project manager for Morse Diesel/AMEC Construction Management on a number of construction projects in New York City prior to attending law school. He earned his J.D. at William & Mary, where he also served as the Managing Editor of the Environmental Law & Policy Review. You can contact him at stephen@gbNYC.com.